The Angels find themselves in familiar territory as they begin the new season.

Their roster is so loaded with MVPs, All-Stars and players with mega contracts that the pundits have placed the Angels among the best teams in the majors.

A World Series championship is squarely in their sights.

Of course, they saw how that worked out last year. By the end of April, the Angels had played a month of disappointing baseball that left them to spend the rest of the season climbing a hill that proved to be too steep.

Looking back, some players suggest the way the Angels handled those expectations might have contributed to the season-killing start.

"I think it got us a little early and we got comfortable," ace Jered Weaver said. "We're not used to having that much hype. I'm not going to say that played into it. We were confident, but maybe just a little too confident going into the season. We figured out how to work with it and made it work the rest of the season and we just came up a little bit short."

Outfielder Peter Bourjos said the Angels "had a little too much pressure on us last year and we learned from it."

While some other players insist the pressure and expectations had no impact on the 6-14 start last season, they do agree the team needs to make sure it doesn't get caught up expecting a big payroll and a lot of stars will automatically create victories.

The 2012 Angels had added Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, the best hitter and one of the best pitchers on the market, at the tidy price of $318 million. Considering the team already included players such as Weaver and Dan Haren, and Torii Hunter and Mark Trumbo, the reigning runner-up to AL Rookie of the Year, the expectations were sky-high.

But Pujols started in a slump and the lineup as a whole didn't produce. The bullpen was a mess.

"We just weren't playing terribly good baseball," Trumbo said. "When the pitching was on we didn't hit well and vice versa. But from then on we played extremely well and showed the type of team we had."

The lesson for 2013, of course, is that the baseball season doesn't allow for slumps of that magnitude.

"The games in April are just as important as the games in September and August," Weaver said. "We saw that last year. It was pretty tough playing catch-up. We went on a run and Texas was getting on a better run and then Oakland got a run. It was tough to watch."

Manager Mike Scioscia hasn't done anything particularly different this spring to try to prevent the slow first halves that have actually plagued the Angels over the past few years.

"If we knew what the factors that contributed to a slow start we obviously would have gotten out of it early on," catcher Chris Iannetta said. "This year we'd like to get off to a hot start and continue it through the season, but you never know till you get into the season."

Of course, the Angels will have one significant advantage as they embark on 2013 that they didn't have in April 2012: Mike Trout is on the team. Last year Trout started the season in the minors because his spring had been interrupted by a sore shoulder and a virus. It was no coincidence the Angels began playing much better around the same time as Trout's season debut on April 28.

"When you get a guy like that at the top of your order," Howie Kendrick said, "it helps your team a lot."

Five months later, Trout had established himself as one of the game's biggest stars — if magazine covers are any indications. And during the offseason the Angels added Josh Hamilton to the mix.

Trout, Pujols and Hamilton, along with Trumbo, form a core that ought to make the Angels one of baseball's best offensive teams. Add solid defense around the diamond, a rotation topped by Weaver and Wilson, and a bullpen with improved depth and it's no surprise the Angels are one of the World Series favorites.

Which means ... nothing.

"No one needs a better reminder than the start we had (last year)," Trumbo said. "It basically reaffirms the fact that you have to go out there and get it done."

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